Menu Planners to the Rescue

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After mentioning about a million times that Menu Planning is essential to not only save a lot of money on food but to ease the stress in mom’s everyday life, I figured it’s about time I actually shared a few links to really help you out. There are a ton of menu planning options available, just do an internet search for Meal Planning or Meal Planners and you’ll be shocked at all the results you end up with.

While I do recommend doing a little research to find the best setup for you (there’s even some amazing menu planner board pics at Pinterest that I fell in love with), there are some particularly great sites and apps that are worth pointing out. First though I want to share a few thoughts with you before we dive into my finds.

Key Money Saving Tip:

As always, if the site/app does not do the weekly sales homework for you, remember to pick your meal plan based on what’s on sale at your local stores (or what you have on hand already).

Questions to Keep In Mind

Among the plethora of sites and apps you will find, there’s a few things to keep in mind when searching for the right program…

How often do you meal plan and shop? Make sure that the planner you find works well with your schedule.
Are there any dietary restrictions? If there are, it’s extremely important that you verify that the meal planning site/app you want to use offers a generous amount of recipes that are right for your family’s needs.
To pay or not to pay? There are several options out there that are not free, for some it’s totally worth it, just make sure you know up front what you’re getting out of it and if you save more than you’ll be spending.
Digital or Paper? Though I’m suggesting a lot of digital/tech based options today, there are definitely still plenty of moms that would do better having their meal planner be on good ole papaer and ink!
Convenience vs Custom – Be sure to decide if you’d rather have your month of meals planned for you completely or if you’d like to choose which meals go on the calendar. Both options have their place so just decide which works best for you.

Sites and Apps

This list is in no way completely comprehensive so please feel free to leave your suggestions, comments or tips in a comment below or you can contact me if you have a suggestion or question you’d like me to answer in the future!

Once A Month Mom is a site and idea that is near and dear to my heart! If you have a few spare moments I definitely do recommend this form of cooking for families. I understand it’s not for everyone, but it earns top spot in my list! Ladies, this is FREE!
HowDoesSheDoIt.com earns a key spot in this list because of the surprising ease of use and complete planning options. They not only have a great website, but they now have apps available too. I love that this one is so complete, all too often I only plan dinners which has it’s place, but the option of planning ALL meals is too good to pass up!
My Family Meal Planner - I’m so very excited that this program has gone mobile! They still offer their great cookbooks that take the guesswork out of meal planning, but now it’s mobile too (yay). Not customizable out side of the options they offer, but if you need something that’s just planned for you, this is an amazing option!
Menu Planning Central – If they offered an app this would forever be my meal planner of choice. Another site that eliminates the guess work from meal planning, they provide the menu calendar, shopping list and even extras for planning during the holidays and much more. A great resource that’s also affordable with both monthly and lifetime membership options!
Dine Without Whine – A Family Friendly Weekly Menu Planner – Another great family meal planner that has a lot of extras too! The boast family friendly meals and again take all the guesswork out of planning!
Food on the Table - I found out about this one through one of the many great savings sites so I had a voucher to use with them to try them out and I’m currently using this program. They suggest recipes based on current sales running at the store you shop at, or you can choose from the many other recipes they offer. The reason I particularly liked this one is that it is the only planner that actually looks up sales from the particular grocery store I shop at! Available online and there’s an app! The app allows you to plan up to three meals a week free (obviously not worth it to use for that, but works if you’re just trying it out), check out the site for the various subscription options.
EatingWell.com also has a great menu planner and the beauty of this one is that you get to see first hand the nutritional side of every part of your menu.
Menu Planner App by Innova Dev – Although this app isn’t free at the price tag of only $2.99 it’s worth checking out. It’s versatile, customizable and innovative, three things that are really a big deal for families.
Relish! At $7 per month this program is one you’ll want to check out in detail and see if it’s right for you (also check online for coupons and vouchers to try them out). The cool thing about this program is that you choose from a selection of 15 different recipes each week. This makes it perfect for the mom that doesn’t want to spend an hour or more searching for all the right recipes to fill your menu. By cutting down on the choices it makes the selection process quick and the meal ideas a little more varied to keep things from getting boring.
emeals.com Another great paid option that’s around $5 per month though the cost completely varies based on your needs. Taking the guess work out of meal planning and just offering it to you directly this is a great option for families, though their meal plans serve up to 6 people (so may not be the best option for large families).
Plan to Eat - at $4.95/month or $39/year this is another great but extremely customized option! There are a ton of features with this one. Although the menus aren’t setup for you the ability for you to import, customize and even plan by week or by month is very nice.